Friday, October 26, 2012

Friday Roundup of the Week's Picks (10/26/12)

Time for another roundup, but first I should explain some changes that I've made today.

First off, I've had to suspend my Your SAVAGE Expert services (except for the publisher-facing Your SAVAGE Setting). Simply put, I can't put the time into it anymore. I've had a number of wonderful opportunities present themselves to me, and I won't do a half-assed job on anything I work on just to get it done.

As many folks have pointed out, I dramatically under-sold myself with the initial offerings. If I do get back to the other Expert offerings, I will have to structure things differently to make the numbers make more sense. I truly appreciate those who initially supported me in my "grand experiment."

Two other changes that have appeared on the Evil Beagle Games site are the change of the name of the OmniVerse Project to OmniCosm, and the addition of my impending Modern Gods line. More on the latter in blogs to come...

This book is the RPG runner's solution to blank brain moments! Whether you're building an adventure or in the midst of play, The Hyper Halfling's Book of Lists can help!

Imagine you drop your carefully crafted campaign notes in a puddle on the way to game. This could mean disaster, but no! The Hyper Halfling's got you covered! With lists of conversations overheard in a tavern, along with the name of the tavern, the drinks they serve, what's for dinner, the name of the guy in the corner, the axe on his back and the town they're in, you can build a story with a handful of dice.

When your players wander into a building you didn't expect them to notice, you can quickly discover who works there, who's skulking in the alley and why, what's in the closet in the back room and in the treasure chest under the owner's bed. There are even lists about the gem in his ear and the stuff in his pockets.

40 list categories give any game runner a vast variety of things to plug into the inevitable game hole. Many lists have sub-categories, variations and optional extras. The depth of detail is entirely up to the reader's preference.

The Hyper Halfling's Book of Lists is laid out in landscape orientation for easy viewing on your computer screen. Lists include links to other lists for easy navigation. Pages can be printed if you like, and maps are suitable for handing out to players for in-game use.

The Hyper Halfling's Book of Lists is suitable for all ages and is not picky about the game rules you use. You will want a full set of polyhedral dice. (Yes, even the d12!)

Prepare to enter a world where anything can happen - the world of dreams.Humanity is under attack. The enemy is an alien species that assails us in our most vulnerable state - while we sleep. You are a Dreamwalker and capable of leaving your own dreams and travelling into the Dreamworlds of others. Not only must you face the parasitic Taenia, but also satisfy the whims and desires of the Dreamer in whose mind they are ensconced. Can you do this and still maintain a grasp on your own sanity? Dreamwalker Diceless allows players to delve deep into the hidden recesses of the human mind. A place where the dreamer must act out his past experiences or current desires. A place where reality has no influence and the surreal makes perfect sense...

For mature readers. Note: this compiles the former PDF Collection into a single book, which is identical to the softcover version. Ghostories includes everything you need for edge-of-your seat, paranormal mysteries. Explore the paranormal as innocents, investigating ghostly encounters, possessed victims, or freakish constructs. Or, delve into the arcane pursuits associated with empathy, faith, magic, meditation, the occult, science, or vigilantism. Tangle with a variety of ghosts, embodied spirits, phantoms, banes, and other creatures -- or mortal threats, such as rogue sorcerers, diabolists, mad scientists, and endowed cults. Ghostories includes special rules for investigations, fear and dementia, paranormal powers, and using connections, as well as nine scenarios...

Precis Intermedia makes this classic Bloodshadows novel (originally published by West End Books) available again. Murder Most Magical… Jack Deacon was just another average gumshoe on another average case. Until his client flashed a set of fangs, the sentinels came calling, and an out-of-town caster tossed a spell with his name on it. Now he has to track down a bizarre killer or take the ultimate fall. The first novel in The World of Bloodshadows. "Not only as a game novel but also as a hard-boiled detective story, I found Hell’s Feast a great read." NOTE: This is a 5x8" scanned reprint of the classic 1994 novel...

In Family Games: The 100 Best, top game designers and publishers write about the most enjoyable, most cleverly designed titles of the last one hundred years. Their essays cover the spectrum from board games to card games, wargames to miniatures games to role-playing games, including old favorites and little known gems. These are the games that the designers themselves play, the ones that have inspired their most popular inventions.

Editor James Lowder has helmed more than a dozen critically acclaimed anthologies and authored several best-selling novels, including Prince of Lies and Knight of the Black Rose. He's been a finalist for the Stoker Award and International Horror Guild Award, and has won an ENnie Award and four Origins Awards.

11. The church outlawed dancing and you need excitement.
47. You ate some bad shrimp.
83. You must tear down the walls between man and monster.

This product is system and genre agnostic, so feel free to use it to use it to feed your fantasy PCs, to name your tanks in any number of popular war games set in the far future, to add some realism to your virtual reality simulator adventures, or just to spark your own imagination!

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Got 99 problems? Make sure that coming up with an alchemical reagent for tonight's game isn't one!

100 Alchemical Reagents is a finely crafted list of mostly historically accurate and verisimilitudinous reagents collected by our semi-professional alchemists. Perfect for snap decisions when your players rummage through the belongings of an alchemist, or just filling out a treasure horde with some mysterious jars of stuff.

A sample of what you might find:

50. Polar Moss
51. Liquid Hematite
52. Bodybloat Lichen

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Got 99 problems? Make sure that coming up with an artifact for tonight's game isn't one!

100 Amazing Artifacts is a finely crafted list of mostly historically accurate and verisimilitudinous artifacts collected by our semi-professional artificers. Perfect for adding to a horde of magical treasure, giving to your wizards, or give you an idea for your own magical enchantments

A sample of what you might find:

15. The Infuriating Mask, with the ability to anger all those who see it worn.

51. The Clear Eye, with the ability to see through solid objects.

89. The Emphasis Spear, with the ability to always hold a sharp point.

And there are the products we liked this week. Have a great weekend, and roll some dice!